Chapter 15

Amanda sat through the endless congratulations with a smile on her face, but even her normally good nature was beginning to slip as the boundary to her personal space continued to shrink. If one more person pats me on the head, I swear I'll bark! The meeting itself only lasted about ten minutes, but the group of employees had circled their new office manager afterwards, and showed no signs of leaving - even though it was almost an hour later.

Anna Leigh heard her granddaughter sigh for the third time in the last five minutes. I think it's time to save Mandy from our well-wishing friends. She stood up and cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention immediately. "Everyone, I realize how excited we all are, but let's give your new boss a break." Accepting the grateful smile from the young woman, she continued, "With all that has happened in the past week, I'm still going to insist that my granddaughter take another week or two off to get some things settled. I know I can count on you all to continue on without her for a little longer." Agreeing murmurs were heard, and the happy employees began filing out of the room.

Amanda stood up and stretched, stepping over to Anna Leigh and wrapping her arms around the older woman. "Thank you…I know they meant well, but the walls were beginning to close in on me." She pulled back to look her grandmother in the eye. "Are you sure you want me to take more time off? I don't really need to…"

"Yes, I'm sure." Anna Leigh placed a hand under the younger woman's chin, looking carefully into her shadowed green eyes. "Honey, you've been through more in the past week than some folks handle in years…and I think you need an extended vacation to sort through it all." She kissed her granddaughter's forehead and pulled the young woman into another hug. "You have a lot of issues to work through, even if you don't realize it."

Amanda sighed. "Yeah, I know…guess the first thing I need to do is go back to LA, pack up all my stuff, and get it shipped here."

"What's the rush?" The older woman pulled away slightly, but kept an arm looped around Amanda's waist. "It's been there for over six months already…what difference would a little longer make?"

The smaller blonde allowed Anna Leigh to escort her out of the conference room and back towards 'her' office. That's going to take some getting used to."Well, after my last couple of conversations with Mother and Dad, I wouldn't put it past them to either throw it all away, or give it to charity…they were pretty upset with me."

They had just walked up to the open office door when Anna Leigh asked, "So, when are you leaving for Los Angeles?"

"Probably next week." Amanda answered casually, not seeing the stricken look on Lex's face as she stood up from the desk. "Lex…did you get your phone calls taken care of?" she gave the rancher a smile. "I thought we'd never get out of that meeting."

"Yeah…" the tall woman looked around uncomfortably, "Umm…I've got a couple of errands to run…" she ran a shaky hand through her hair, "you wanna stay here for a little while and get settled?"

Amanda looked at her quizzically. The rancher was looking pale and shaky. What's up with her? She stepped a little closer and put her hand on Lex's arm, causing the older woman to jump slightly. "Okay…when you get back, I have something to talk to you about." Feeling the arm under her hand tense, Amanda looked up into Lex's face. "Are you okay? You're not looking too well."

Taking a breath to speak, Lex shook her head. She's right…I heard the tail end of the conversation and panicked. "Sorry…ummm…" she looked down at the floor, "Did I hear right? You're going back to California?" willing her voice not to quiver.

Amanda mentally slapped her forehead. Idiot! She's already shook up, and then hears that? Getting inside Lex's guard, Amanda snuggled up to her and wrapped her arms around the tall woman gently. "Yeah…that's what I wanted to talk to you about. You feel up to taking a trip with me sometime next week? I want to go get the rest of my stuff packed up and shipped back here, before my parents throw it out." She felt the older woman instantly relax.

"You want me to go to your parents house with you?" Lex asked, unsure. "Do you really think that's such a good idea?"

Hearing the office door quietly close, Amanda smiled to herself. Gramma always seems to know… She pulled back slightly, then threaded her hands through the taller woman's hair, pulling the dark head down gently. "I want them to meet you…so that they can see why I love you so." Brushing Lex's lips softly with her own, Amanda felt the rancher tremble, so she gently deepened the kiss until a warmth began to spread throughout her own body.

Strong hands that had been wrapped around her waist slowly migrated downward, pulling the smaller woman nearer. Groaning into the older woman's mouth, Amanda squeezed closer, until their bodies melded almost into one.

Breaking off the kiss to breathe, Lex nuzzled the blonde woman's ear. "You'd better stop now, or your new office is going to get more of a christening than you can imagine." She felt the small body shake with laughter.

"Oh God, Lex…I think that would be a little hard to explain, don't you?" Small chills ran down her spine as Lex nibbled on her earlobe. "Uhhh…L…Lex…ah….you'd better stop, or you're gonna….mmmm…end up on my…ah…desk."

Kissing the tip of Amanda's nose, Lex grinned, then backed off. "Heh…don't tempt me." She took a deep breath, pleased to note that her ribs didn't seem to have been damaged in the earlier scuffle. "So…when are we leaving?" she asked, seeing a large smile cover her companion's face.

"Really? You'll go?" Amanda wrapped her arms back around Lex's body exuberantly. Hearing the sharp intake of breath, she pulled away quickly. "Oh no, Lex…your ribs! I'm so sorry…"

"Sshh…they're fine…just a little tender." Lex pulled the small woman close again. "And of course I'll go. Do you actually think I could stand to be without you for what…three, four days? Uh-uh…you're stuck with me, sweetheart." She kissed the soft blonde hair lightly.

"Cool - I think I can handle that." Amanda murmured. She was about to say more when a knock on the door interrupted her. "Come in." she answered, giving Lex one final quick kiss on the chin before backing away a step.